Senate Bill S7985

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to prohibiting the release of balloons

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2019-S7985 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A8522
Current Committee:
Senate Environmental Conservation
Law Section:
Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:
Add §11-0331, amd §71-0923, En Con L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2021-2022: S5308, A5902
2023-2024: S2262, A3851
2025-2026: S153

2019-S7985 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits the release of balloons with exceptions for manned hot air balloons, government-related experiments, and balloons released indoors.

2019-S7985 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S7985 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7985
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 6, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
   prohibiting the release of balloons
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1.  Legislative findings. When balloons are released into  our
 airspace,  balloon  debris  is  introduced  into our environment and our
 ecosystem.  Like other plastics, balloon debris takes hundreds of  years
 to degrade, resulting in the lasting and harmful pollution of our water-
 ways,  beaches,  and  environment.  Balloon  debris is also particularly
 harmful   to marine and wildlife,  commonly  causing  injury  and  death
 through  ingestion  and  entanglement.  In addition, balloons can pose a
 significant economic risk to boaters and the fishing industry by causing
 potentially severe damage to boats, while mylar balloons  in  particular
 can  also  threaten  utility  supply. It is necessary to curb the inten-
 tional release of balloons in order to prevent the  wasting  of  natural
 resources, the littering and pollution of our communities and waterways,
 and the unnecessary harming of marine and wildlife.
   §  2.    The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new
 section 11-0331 to read as follows:
 § 11-0331. RELEASE OF CERTAIN BALLOONS PROHIBITED.
   1. NO PERSON SHALL KNOWINGLY RELEASE  OR  INTENTIONALLY  CAUSE  TO  BE
 RELEASED  OUTDOORS  A BALLOON.   FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "BALLOON"
 SHALL REFER TO A FLEXIBLE, NONPOROUS  BAG  MADE  OF  MATERIALS  SUCH  AS
 RUBBER,  LATEX,  POLYCHLOROPRENE  OR  NYLON FABRIC THAT CONTAINS HELIUM,
 HYDROGEN, NITROUS OXIDE, OXYGEN, AIR OR WATER.
   2. THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO:
   (A) BALLOONS WHICH ARE USED FOR THE  PURPOSE  OF  CARRYING  SCIENTIFIC
 INSTRUMENTATION  DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF AN EXPERIMENT OR TEST OR BY A
 PERSON ON BEHALF OF A GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY OR PURSUANT TO A  GOVERNMENTAL
 CONTRACT FOR SCIENTIFIC OR METEOROLOGICAL PURPOSES;
   (B) MANNED HOT AIR BALLOONS; OR
   (C) BALLOONS RELEASED INDOORS.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

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